treasures, treasures

walking on a lovely Sunday afternoon with the our baby boy, we saw this rainbow just over our hill. apparently, there is a pot of gold hidden somewhere there but we didn't look for it... we had 5 kgs of our little precious to carry.

new arrival

oh, it has been a long time since my last post and a lot has changed with the arrival of our tiny bundle of joy ... well, maybe not so tiny at 9 lbs 1 oz (4120 g) ... but all went well and our little baby boy has been with us since Sept 13th

so now he is in the centre of attention

other news ... hmmm ... IMI exams were passed and I am waiting for my diploma to arrive ... application for the work as a Garda successful but the thing must be postponed for some time ... obviously i am no longer commuting to M to see my M as we live together now ... on the literature scene, Olga Tokarczuk, the author of "Bieguni", has won the NIKE prize ... at the moment I am trying to finish Pawel Huelle's "Ostatnia Wieczerza" ... altogether I have little or no time to browse the Internet or do some other things at the moment but more updates may follow soon ... now it is time to go again though ...

Sunday for study

Spathiphyllium, the daughter, has recently moved to M. This is her new corner, nice and cosy. I hear she is well looked after by M :)
The mother is still staying here for the moment but is to change her whereabouts pretty soon.
She may get a new pot on this occassion too!
***
It is a sunny, warm and lazy Sunday here and I am trying to study for my final exams. I remember studying in April and May last year and it was not easy. It is not easy now either but then my exams are this Tue and Wed and then there will be no more. Hopefully it will go well. I am going on holidays soon after to recuperate from all the brain damage caused by "excessive studying" ;)

And now all you've been waiting for ...

Hmmm I was asked for an update by my faithful (two) readers so here it goes...
Just a quick thing for now as it is late and later there will be more posts (hopefully).

Anyway, a long time has passed since I put away Asne Seierstad's "The Bookseller of Kabul". Since then, I have started reading a few books and now they are queuing on the shelves and waiting to be finished.

1. "Bieguni" by Olga Tokarczuk. Her newest, long-awaited novel on journey and people who travel. Here is the link to some short summary in English.
I must stay I like those stories; some are short and some long, there are a lot of references to various cultures and different people. Now I wonder though: when am I going to finish it?


The same goes for:

2. Asne Seierstad's "With their backs to the world: Portraits from Serbia"
I read a few chapters but I have lost my heart after a while. I don't find this book as compelling as "The Bookseller of Kabul" and I suppose this book must wait for a better moment now.
3. Then I don't even want to mention Steve Jones' "Y: The Descent of Men" (here goes one review) I feel ashamed now; I know I mentioned this book before in my blog but I don't even remember when.


So that is it. My college book gathers dust as well and waits to be opened. This must happen soon as I have my two final exams coming and looming large...

In the meantime, I work as usual (though shorter hours), I sleep more than usual !!! and am starting yoga classes this Monday.

The bookseller of Kabul.

Over the Christmas time I read the book by Asne Seierstad - The Bookseller of Kabul. I read it on my way back from PL and unfortunately left it on the plane (with the Christmas card from M. as a bookmark :-( While I got a new copy of the book soon after I landed , I could not get the card back. M gave me then a post-Christmas card with the same image but I am still sorry I lost the first one I had got. Painting is by Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battista Salvi))
... to go back to the book, I did enjoy it because it was about a culture different to ours and also because it was about the women and their life. The portrait drawn by Anne is both intimate and moving. You can read a short review of the book here.

Then I found an interesting article on this book by Ann Marlow. I recommend reading it as it explains more of the culture behind the book and pinpoints inconsistencies in the novel itself.

The bookseller himself, ShahMuhammad Rais, took action against Anne Seierstad for libelling his family.

"Shah Muhammad Rais, owner of the bookshop at the Intercontinental Hotel and another near the Mustafa Hotel, is taking legal action against Norwegian journalist and author Asne Seierstad for her best selling book “The Bookseller of Kabul.” [source]

A bit more on the book can be found here.

Happy New Year

Maybe it is a bit late but after all we are only in the first week of 2008. HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone, may it bring whatever it is you are looking or waiting for.
All the best -
nightskyspy